“My dream is that freaky kids don’t have to get hurt anymore,” says Bornstein, a trans pioneer who literally wrote the book many use when trying to explore gender identity. This year, she published her latest guide, My New Gender Workbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Achieving World Peace Through Gender Anarchy and Sex Positivity, as she continues to battle both leukemia and lung cancer. “All I ever dreamed of my whole life was being a pretty girl... but I wouldn’t mind being healthy. I’ve made the decision to stay alive.”

Photographed at Fast Ashley’s Studio in Brooklyn, N.Y., on September 5, 2013